


Class Documents: Legends of the Luminary

by sageandfoolishwisdom



Category: Dragon Quest XI
Genre: (sort of), Academic Writing, Epistolary, Fictional Mythology, Folklore, Gen, POV Outsider, This is very hard to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:48:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29703594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sageandfoolishwisdom/pseuds/sageandfoolishwisdom
Summary: Course Description:Why do we create folklore? Where do myth and legends originate? How do these texts provide important context for history? Legends of the Luminary explores these questions and more through the lens of the story of the Luminary. We will explore how the stories of this figure have changed over time, seeing how the different iterations reflect the Erdrea of the time.Essential Questions:How does the changing relationship between people, technology, and magic influence how we tell stories?How has the idea of the “heroic figure” changed throughout history?What is the role of storytelling in different time periods?
Comments: 11
Kudos: 7





	Class Documents: Legends of the Luminary

**Author's Note:**

> Some names and details are incorrect. This is on purpose!

_Below are selected excerpts from On the Second Luminary: Fact or Fiction? Published 1986YD, Thomison, et al. Read, taking notes on the document, especially on its use of primary sources. Also, what biases do you see? How does this relate with what you’ve been studying so far? Compare its claims with more recent discoveries. Be prepared to share in class, as we will be discussing it on Day 2. Next week's reading will be on some of the sources mentioned here, so this will give you a look ahead as to what we’ll be studying._

The Luminary: a figure of folktales dating back a millennium or more. By all accounts, a man of courage, strength, and purest light; he is the hero of every story he appears in. But just who was he? Was he merely fiction, a character designed to provide hope to the people when Erdrea was under threat? Was he an amalgamation of multiple people, whose acts have been put together under the one name? A great king? A simple farmboy? Recently discovered in the Heliodor Mountains is evidence that sheds new light on this figure. 

The legend of the Luminary can be split into two. The First Luminary, the man from Erdwin’s Song, a tale dating back over three millennia, and the second, who first appeared in written record around a thousand years ago. It is him with which we are concerned today.

[See _Erdwin, Star of the Heavens_ for more information concerning the First Luminary.]

No record of the Second Luminary’s name has survived the passage of time, with most texts referring to him as either simply, “The Luminary” or “Scion of the World Tree”. Henceforth, he shall be referred to as the Luminary.

The first mention of one who could be the Luminary appears in a sidenote in a ledger kept in Gallopolis. The book documented the contents of the royal treasury, and notes that, in the year 2081GY (1003YD), the Forging Hammer was to be sold, but was instead given away. The Tale of the Luminary, the longest and most complete record of the exploits of the Second Luminary (originating from the oral tradition), mentions that the Luminary received the Forging Hammer in order to “forge a weapon to slay the shadows”. This makes it likely that the Gallopolitan ledger is either the first record of the Luminary, or a figure who has been combined with his legend.

A diary of Sultan Faris I (Faris the Clever), currently kept in the Gallopolitan Archives, does not mention this incident, instead talking at length about a circus performer, suspected by some historians to be a close personal friend of the Sultan’s.

[Four pages on the exports of Gallopolis during the reign of Sultan Selim II and Sultan Faris I follow, omitted here for clarity.]

Further records of figures similar to that of the Luminary can be seen in writings from the same period, providing further proof that this is when the legend originated. A diary written under the reign of Sniflheim’s Queen Krystabel I mention “Gold Fever”, a plague that struck Sniflheim in the early Eleventh Century, and mention a “savior” bringing a cure to the people, freeing them from the “curse of gold”. However, census records mention no notable change in birth or death rates at that time, casting doubt on the validity of this document. 

Octagonia has records of a hero ridding the city of a monster infestation, a hero which some believe to be the Luminary as it coincides with verses but which seems more likely to be General Hendrick of Heliodor, given that Heliodorian records show that he was sent there at the time. 

Notably, one consensus in all Erdrea’s kingdoms is that, at the time, there was a significant increase in the severity and frequency of monster attacks, shown through the breakdown of trade and communication between the kingdoms. Natural disasters were recorded in unnatural frequency across the globe as well. One Gondolian writer poetically put this series of events as “the year the sky went dark”. 

[Analysis of the writings of Placido Rotondo can be found in _A Poet’s History: Gondolia_.] 

The rise in monster attacks, as well as the fall of Old Dundrasil and Zwaardsrust, is what leads many to call this “The Dark Age of Erdrea”, the period around the turn of the first millennium. One theory of the origin of the Second Luminary is that, since this was such a dark time, the legend of the Second Luminary arose as a means to keep people’s morale up, and was a merging of the exploits of local heroes with the tale of Erdwin. As such, this camp believes that the Second Luminary is a purely fictional character.

However, a cache of documents unearthed during the construction of the Emerald Coast tunnel seems to provide evidence that the Luminary was originally a single person, whose story has been distorted over time. The documents have been dated to the early Eleventh Century, the time when the Second Luminary would have been active. The letters were preserved in a sealed container, possibly reinforced with defensive spells, which protected them from damage over the years. 

[Scholars are currently looking into what spells were used to preserve the letters. Reports can be read in _Magick Technica_.]

These documents mostly consist of letters, almost all addressed to a single person called by “El”, “Ellie, or “Eleven”. Which one is used depends on the author of the particular letter, but the contents of the letters indicate that they all refer to the same person. 

Authors of letters include important historical figures such as Queen Jade of Heliodor, General Hendrick, and Sultan Faris. The informal language of the letters suggests familiarity with the recipient, possibly indicating they were of similar social class. 

Notably, the writings reference events from The Tale of the Luminary, some of which are mentioned in other records as well, giving them further credence. These accounts are often in greater and more personal detail than from other sources, possibly due to their relatively undamaged state compared to other records from the time. Among the events specifically named are the disappearances in Phnom Nohn, attributed to monsters inhabiting the city’s famous ruins; the Siege of Gondolia; and the theft of the Red Orb of Heliodor, one of the kingdom’s royal treasures.

The writers speak as if they were intimately familiar with all the incidents, naming actions alleged to have been done by the companions of the Luminary. This, as well as references to the recipient as a friend and leader, as well as talk about their powers, indicates that the “Eleven” to which these letters were written is the central figure of the Luminary’s legend, Yggdrasil’s chosen hero. 

Other items in the cache are weapons of varying types: knives, swords, whips, axes, wands, and spears (matching those described in The Tale of the Luminary); a painting of a group of people; and a handwritten copy of _Erdrean Fables_. The picture is of particular interest, due to the close match of certain individuals to descriptions of important figures of the time, including the authors of the letters. Could this picture be that of the Luminary and his companions? If so, this is one of the most important findings of all time.

Aside from the importance to the history of the Luminary, the letters also give a fascinating glimpse into the daily life in the Dark Age of Erdrea, and as such, are of great interest to historians of many fields. 

The items are still being examined at the time of print, and as such, future editions will be updated to reflect the findings. For now, it seems that we have found conclusive proof of the existence of the Second Luminary. 

**Author's Note:**

> this hit me in a flash of inspiration while I was cooking and I ended up writing this in like two hours. I have no idea how I did that, honestly.
> 
> I may or may not write more, since I have many ideas but also am very busy
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this little experiment!


End file.
